Author: Paul Gable

New Filings Coming in Southern Holdings Case

New court filings in the Southern Holdings case next week are expected to fully reveal a wide ranging conspiracy to keep details of the case from ever being heard in open court.

According to sources familiar with the new information, it will detail why the Federal Bureau of Investigation provided experts to testify in depositions about key pieces of evidence in the case.

The FBI is specifically prohibited by federal law from becoming involved in civil lawsuits where the federal government is not a party. The federal government is not a party in Southern Holdings yet the FBI became involved.

The original Southern Holdings case began with the attempt of former Myrtle Beach resident Ancil Garvin, III and several co-conspirators attempting to take over the shares and contracts of Southern Holdings Inc.

The name Ancil Garvin III may be familiar to some readers with the fraudulent financing and ultimate failure of the Bahama Island and Crystal Palace projects in North Myrtle Beach.

A company called Atlewa Trust, of which Garvin was a co-founder in 2004 with Rufus Paul Harris and DuWayne Woods, was supposed to provide the financing for the projects. Instead, approximately $6 million of down payments went missing from escrow accounts.

Harris and Woods are currently serving time in federal prison for this and other scams they were involved with. Garvin remains free and allegedly living on Mindanao in the southern Philippines.

The real asset of Southern Holdings that Garvin wanted was exclusive contracts to import cigarettes into Venezuela, worth approximately $20 million. However, the company Southern Holdings took over to obtain the contracts, Ivestra, was also involved in the cigarette black market operating over the Venezuela/Columbia border.

The Social Issue of Transgender Bathrooms

Any time a controversial social issue comes to the fore, it brings along with it a variety of opinions that become so heated that rational thought becomes blurred.

The question of transgender bathrooms in Horry County schools has exploded into such an issue. The debate on this potent issue includes public fears, religious morality and political involvement.

At one time, this type of dilemma would not have been on anyone’s agenda as to many it is a non-issue. However, right now it is a hot topic as the controversial transgender bathroom is getting public and media attention no one thought possible.

Two days ago the Horry County School Board passed a resolution to say the administration would follow the law as it now stands (allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify or a private bathroom, whichever they prefer).

The school board also passed a motion to file an amicus curiae brief in support of the Gloucester (VA) County School Board, the agency in the middle of a lawsuit on transgender bathroom use.

Parents of non-transgender students continue to question the morality and safety of the decision. Parents of transgender students worry about the safety and stigmatization of their children.

For the reader…If you want to be a compassionate individual, try having a person’s anxiety who has a transgender body and their torment. Imagine the turmoil of how they feel trapped within a body they don’t want to have, but are not able to fully be the one they want to be. It is a self-torturing conundrum to have, trying to break loose from a feeling of frustration to one of freedom. For them it must be a joy to be able to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with.

On the other side of the coin, is the moral consciousness of people who believe such a decision is immoral and sacrilegious to the core of morality. To them, crossing over from one gender to another is blasphemous.

Donald Trump Runs Cruz Out of Race – Update

Kasich to Suspend Campaign

A senior campaign official for John Kasich said the Ohio governor plans to announcee he is suspending his presidential primary campaign today.

It appears reality has finally sunk in to the final Republican candidate left standing against Donald Trump. Reality says the Kasich campaign was over whether he suspended it or not.

Trump will have locked up the nomination by the time the Republicans gather in Cleveland for their national convention in July.

Now it will be interesting to see the developing strategy for winning the general election in November.

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Donald Trump burned down the Ted Cruz firewall in Indiana and Cruz suspended his campaign for the presidency after getting clobbered by Hoosier voters.

The victory for Trump is not only over Cruz and the other candidates who started in the race, but over the Republican Party itself.

I don’t know if the party leaders get it, but, this year at least, the voters have demonstrated over and over they don’t want an establishment politician in the presidency.

This is a populist election year. Voters are tired of the political polarization the two parties have fed us for over 30 years while the middle class contracts and more good jobs disappear to foreign countries every year.

It’s not completely over because Trump does not have the 1,237 delegates needed to sew up the nomination yet. But he will by first ballot time because nothing of consequence stands in his way.

Robert Seth Rabon Withdraws Candidacy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Aynor – May 2, 2016

Robert Seth Rabon announced today that he is withdrawing his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Horry County Auditor.

The decision to withdraw was made because of deteriorating medical conditions of family members.

Rabon said the decision to withdraw from the Auditor’s race was extremely difficult. It came after much consideration, prayerful thought and discussion with family members.

“Some health problems with family members have recently become much more serious,” said Rabon. “As much as I would like to serve the citizens of Horry County, responding to the needs of my family must be my first consideration.”

“I would like to thank all of my supporters, especially those who have been working so diligently for my election,” Rabon said. “I am sorry I have to take this step, but it is the right thing for me to do at this time.”

Rabon was challenging six term incumbent Lois Eargle for the Republican nomination.

In the Center of the Transgender Storm – Update

The Horry County School Board is trying to work its way out of the center of a transgender storm regarding bathroom usage in schools.

After the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recorded a 2-1 decision in the case of G.G. v. Gloucester (VA) County recently, a student who had been suspended for one day for using a school bathroom not of the student’s “birth-assigned sex” threatened to sue Horry County Schools.

The student is represented by the Transgender Law Center of California, which sent a letter to the school district threatening the law suit.

Just in the last several days, Horry County School Board members and Superintendent Rick Maxey received an email with two attachments from an attorney of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Scottsdale, Arizona headquartered organization with a branch in Georgia.

The subject of the email is: “Schools Are Not Legally Required to Allow Students to Use Opposite-Sex Restrooms, Showers, and Changing Rooms.”

One of the email attachments “explains the recent decision in the case of G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board and dispels the myth that, following the decision, schools are required to allow students to use the restrooms of the opposite sex,” according to the email.

My first thought was why do a law center based in California and a non-profit organization headquartered in Arizona want to get involved in Horry County?

My second thought, an answer to the first, was so that these two organizations can bring their causes into the national spotlight, using Horry County to test the Fourth Circuit ruling. You know, the old 15 minutes of fame or, in this case, maybe 15 years of fame for these organizations.

Do we want our school board to get in the middle of a national legal fight over transgender rights, equal protection, Title IX, discrimination and the like or do we want them concentrating on educating our children?

Remember, any public money spent on fighting lawsuits is money taken away from our children’s education. And we certainly don’t want to have to raise taxes just to be the center of national media attention.

Transgender Bathroom Issues Hit Horry County Schools

(Above Shanda Allen with husband Al Allen)

Over the past 48 hours, Horry County has literally exploded in comments about transgender bathroom usage in Horry County Schools.

The Horry County School Board has been the focus of this deluge of communications, mostly by parents opposing transgender students being allowed to use the bathroom of their choice.

Last week, a three judge panel at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision, in G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board, that a Virginia school discriminated “on the basis of sex” in violation of Title IX when it barred “G.G.,” a “transgender boy” (a girl who identifies as a boy) from using the boys’ restroom.

Previously, the school had allowed the student to use either the girls’ bathroom or one of the school’s single stall bathroom units created by the school to accommodate transgender students, but open to usage by all students.

Forcing the student to use a common area bathroom with a gender she didn’t identify with or to use a special single stall bathroom was determined discriminatory by the panel of judges.

The Horry County School Board faces the same type of situation with a transgender boy who was suspended from school for using the boys’ bathroom.

After the suspension, Horry County Schools was notified in a letter from the Transgender Law Center that it faced a lawsuit if students were denied usage of the bathroom of the gender with which they identify and live as on a daily basis.

Earlier this week, Horry County Schools released a statement, “The District maintains the privacy of all of its students. The District seeks to accommodate the individual needs of its transgender students in compliance with the law, including Title IX. We will continue our efforts to ensure a welcoming school environment for all students.”

That statement opened a deluge of communications from parents concerned with the idea of students of one gender using the bathroom of the opposite gender regardless of the gender with which the individual identifies himself or herself.

Press Release: American Execs Tried To Cut Off Al Qaeda Funding Pre 9/11

The news media is filled with reports that the “Saudi kingdom’s involvement was deliberately covered up at the highest levels of our government. And the cover-up goes beyond locking up 28 pages of the Saudi report in a vault in the US Capitol basement. Investigations were throttled. Co-conspirators were let off the hook.” Fox News, Huffington Post, Miami Herald, New York Post, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Beyond the contents of the 9/11 report allegedly implicating Saudi involvement in the funding of al Qaeda, is the documented information on how the United States Justice Department’s vaunted NCIC system was used in the attempted murder of United States business executives who were unwittingly shutting off Saudi funding to al Qaeda. For the past fifteen years, the surviving business executives have spent their lives to get to the truth of why they were targeted and why the United States Justice Department was actively involved in protecting the perpetrators.

During the fifteen years, they have uncovered links and concrete irrefutable documentation of the involvement of an Assistant Director of the FBI, the office of United States Senator Lindsey Graham, the United States Justice Department, the head of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and a Director in the Office of Homeland Security. The internal documents from the individuals and/or the agencies involved detail how these individuals’ lives were destroyed by illegal actions of the government under the guise of National Security to keep the secret of the Saudi financial involvement in 9/11 from the American public.

Millions of dollars of government funds were used and are still being used to stop this action from reaching a truly independent review in Federal District Court. The local political and geopolitical interest supersedes the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution because of the perceived impact of exposing documentation of both our governments’ actions against the public to protect Saudi interests tied to the funding of the attack on the United States on September 11, 2001 and the Saudis funding 9/11.

Potential Buyer Looking at PTR Industries

(Above Gov. Nikki Haley with a special edition assault rifle presented to her by PTR Industries}

A firm from New York state is reportedly looking at the possibility of buying PTR Industries, a deal that could save the company’s operations at Horry County’s Cool Springs Business Park.

PTR Industries was recruited to relocate from Connecticut to Horry County in 2013 by the Myrtle Beach Regional Development Corporation. This was touted as a major coup by MBREDC as Horry County was a successful bidder over several other states in landing PTR Industries.

A package that included an approximately $1 million upgrade of a county spec building at Cool Springs Business Park and incentive based job creation credits was put together by MBREDC and the SC Department of Commerce for PTR Industries.

The company brought approximately 21 workers with it from Connecticut and promised to create an additional 145 jobs in Horry County within three years.

PTR Industries commenced operations in Horry County in January 2014 and hired approximately 28 additional employees in the first months of its operations.

However, it quickly fell behind in its rent payments to Horry County for the Cool Springs Business Park building that is its headquarters and manufacturing location. One week after a Grand Opening celebration, in July 2014, that included appearances by Gov. Nikki Haley and local Congressman Tom Rice, PTR Industries laid off some workers and instituted a 10% across the board pay cut to those remaining.

Since then, PTR Industries has struggled. According to several sources, Horry County Council restructured its rent deal with PTR Industries last fall in order to help the company become current.

Presidential Primary Home Stretch

After sweeping five presidential primaries in big fashion last night, I think Donald Trump can tell the fat lady to start warming up her voice.

After six straight overwhelming primary wins, Trump has at least entered the home stretch to the Republican presidential nomination while rivals John Kasich and Ted Cruz are fading fast.

Cruz certainly demonstrated to Republican delegates to the national convention why he shouldn’t be the party’s choice with one second place finish and four thirds.

Cruz had a new excuse yesterday for his poor showings – It’s the media’s fault. Coming from a man who’s often wrong, but never in doubt, such a statement is not unexpected.

Cruz was in Indiana yesterday campaigning among the voters he predicts will be the stoppers to Trump’s nomination run.

Outside his own state of Texas, Indiana is a state that could buy into Cruz’s nonsense. After all, it’s only two years ago that Republican voters chose Richard Mourdock over long-time incumbent Richard Luger in a primary for the Republican nomination for the Senate.

Mourdock went on to snatch defeat from almost certain victory in this red state with the brilliant statement ‘if a woman becomes pregnant through an act of rape, It’s God’s Will.’

Kasich should be ashamed of himself for even thinking of joining is some type of collusion with Cruz to ‘Stop Trump’ from gaining the nomination.

Random Thoughts on Presidential Primaries

Voters will go to the polls in five states today to cast a ballot in Republican and Democratic presidential primaries.

At the end of the day, Hilary Clinton will probably be very close to securing the number of delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination for president.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump is expected to win all five states. However, his nomination will still be in doubt because of party rules and a last ditch effort between the other remaining Republican candidates, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, to stop his nomination at all costs.

Here is a sample of the rhetoric we have heard in the last several days:

A vote for Cruz or Trump is a vote for Hilary Clinton – Kasich

John Kasich has no path whatsoever to the Republican nomination – Cruz

If you collude in business, if you collude in the stock market, they put you in jail. But, if you collude in politics, because it’s a rigged system, that’s okay. – Trump

It takes two guys, long time politicians, to get together to try and stop Trump and they’re way behind. These two guys have to collude in order to stay alive. And they’re not doing very good. They’re way behind. – Trump

Pennsylvania demonstrates the Republican system. It will send 71 delegates to the Republican national convention. If Trump has a big win in Pennsylvania, as he is expected to do, he will gain 17 pledged delegates. The remaining 54 will be unpledged going to the national convention.

This is why Cruz and or Kasich still have hopes of gaining the nomination. They don’t have to win with the voters. All they have to do is stop Trump from gaining a majority of delegates on the first ballot to force the convention open to second and further ballots where the results from the voters will be largely ignored.

As the rhetoric rises and the games being played are brought to light, it becomes more obvious to voters that they really don’t matter that much to the Republican insiders who are trying to stop Trump from gaining the nomination.